Around 100 students gathered in the Residential College South’s common area to watch Republican nominee Donald Trump take on Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in the first 2016 presidential debate Monday night.
Topics discussed by the candidates ranged from the economy, America’s direction and national security.
Trump made points about bringing law and order back in the country. He discussed violence in big cities like Chicago, and said America needs better relationships between the community and police. He also stressed that America has to bring back jobs that have been outsourced to other countries by giving companies incentive to expand here.
Clinton relied on her past in politics to prove her experience and to appeal as the better candidate, boasting her political career as former senator and secretary of state. Clinton vowed to raise minimum wage, guarantee equal pay for women, make America a clean energy superpower and make college more affordable.
Assistant professor of political science Sue Ann Skipworth said she thought Clinton’s answers seemed to be more polished than Trump’s.
“You could tell (Clinton’s) preparation was probably greater and that shined through in her answers,” Skipworth said. “Trump had some difficulty staying on point with some of his responses but seemed to make some good points here and there. Was it enough? I don’t know. We’ll see tomorrow, see what public opinion is. But overall you can tell definitely the level of preparedness or the degree to which each were polished in their answers.”
Marvin P. King, Jr., associate professor of political science and African-American studies, said although Trump did lose focus at times, he gave his supporters what they wanted to hear.
“Trump clearly is about riling up his base, his primary voters, and getting them mad about the state of America,” King said. “He talked about all the problems with free trade, devastated economies, devastated inner cities and getting people worked up and mad. It was reminiscent of his convention speech, that kind of tone. That’s going to play well with his base, so he did that well.”
King said one critique people might have about Clinton is that she was sometimes clinical, and condescending to Trump.
“Clinton, much of her campaign is that she has got experience,” King said. “Over and over again she has stressed what she did as senator or as secretary to impart the idea that she has got experience and she can be trusted. I don’t know which Americans will go with, but I think they both were trying to shore up their bases.”
One problem that arose during the debate for Trump was discussion of his tax forms and his failure to release them.
Senior political science major and treasurer of Pi Sigma Alpha Reed Kreger said Trump seemed to back himself into a corner during this discussion. Reed said although the average American does not understand tax forms or financial disclosures, the need for Trump to release his forms is a huge issue.
“We need to see the last time he paid taxes, how much taxes he’s been doing, also how he’s going to raise or lower taxes for corporations,” Reed said. “In the past he’s said that he will encourage big business but tonight it was interesting because he’s kind of wavered on the position while Clinton is talking all about tax cuts to the middle class, trying to build the middle class, so it was just interesting the divide.”
King said he thinks the true personalities of both candidates showed tonight. He said that Trump is a New Yorker through and through with his in your face, let’s-get-it-done personality. He said Clinton, on the other hand, is calm and the type to want to sit at a table and discuss policy.
“The difference is, what mood are Americans in?” King said. “Do we want someone who is going to be more in your face or do we want someone who is going to sit and kind of coolly go through all the different policy options before making a decision and I think that’s just the choice that we have to make.”
The watch party was sponsored by political science honor society Pi Sigma Alpha, UM College Democrats, UM College Republicans and TEDxUM.
